Come on, let's go get a drink!

The air froze again, leaving only the heavy sound of time flowing by and Qian Renxue's suppressed, intermittent sobs.

The sound was no longer the hollow sob of before, but carried a clear, heartbreaking sorrow, like a winding, icy stream, silently spreading and flowing through the deathly silent palace.

Each inhale was accompanied by an unbearable sob, and each exhale felt like the soul struggling on the verge of shattering.

It is the most authentic echo after the storm, the fragile reverberation after pride has been utterly crushed.

Lin Xia stood there, like a statue drained of its Hustle and hope.

He looked at the figure curled up on the cold floor and felt his own soul being torn to pieces by the sobbing.

Lin Xia longed to stay, even if it was just to stand silently in the shadows and keep her company.

But he knew that the last thing she needed at that moment was his presence.

His very existence is the root of this suffering.

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly.

The candlelight flickered, casting shifting shadows on Qian Renxue's trembling shoulders, reflecting the cold glint of the shattered glass, and also the unfathomable pain and bewilderment in Lin Xia's eyes.

Venusaur's massive head arched against his back, conveying a silent urging and worry.

Finally, it was Qian Renxue again who, with her last ounce of strength, broke the suffocating silence.

She didn't look up; her voice came through her arms and long hair, hoarse and weary, carrying an almost ethereal calm, yet more desperate than any cry.

"Xiao Xia... you should go first... I also need to... calm down..."

Each word seemed Frillish, yet carried immense weight.

Lin Xia's heart felt as if it had been clenched tightly by those words, almost stopping its beating.

He took a deep breath, a heavy, cold breath that seemed to inhale the despair that filled the entire room.

A bone-chilling cold shot straight from his lungs to his limbs, but he knew he had to leave.

He glanced at the figure still curled up on the ground, rejecting the world, his lips moved silently, but ultimately no sound came out.

All apologies, explanations, and promises seem so pale and powerless at this moment, even a further desecration of her suffering.

He could only nod heavily, though she couldn't see him.

"... Um."

A barely audible response.

Lin Xia turned around with difficulty, his steps feeling like they were made of lead, each step pressing on his shattered heart. He walked towards the door, bypassing the massive body of Venusaur.

The moment he stepped out of the palace gates, the sobbing behind him seemed to become suddenly clearer. The suppressed, broken cries, like a final elegy, pierced his eardrums and reached the depths of his soul.

Lin Xia almost stumbled as she quickly closed the heavy, magnificent palace door that separated the two shattered worlds.

"Bang."

The dull echo reverberated through the empty corridor, striking his already wounded heart.

Inside the door was an angel, utterly broken, whose soul had sunk to the bone.

Outside the door stood the distraught Holy Son, burdened with heavy shackles.

The cold night wind in the corridor brushed against his cheeks, carrying the faint, fishy scent of the distant garden plants, but it couldn't dispel even a fraction of the suffocation and despair in his heart.

He wandered aimlessly like a lost Ghost type, the ground beneath his feet seemingly unreal.

Venusaur silently followed beside him, its massive body casting a silent shadow. From time to time, it would gently touch Lin Xia's cold hand with its warm vines, conveying silent comfort and a low, guttural "Dana... Dana..." croak.

Where to go?

Go back to your room?

That place would only remind him of the warmth Qian Renxue had once provided, and of that devastating confession he had just received.

Go find the teacher?

He promised to give her time, and going there rashly now would only make her more confused and ashamed.

The vast palace now seemed to him nowhere to go, with only ruins and broken walls everywhere he looked.

Just as he was drifting in and out of consciousness, nearing the area where his room was located, a voice, tinged with probing and concern, sounded beside him:

"Lin Xia?"

Lin Xia turned her head numbly.

It's Hu Liena.

She seemed to have just returned from outside; her clothes still carried a trace of the cool night dew.

Her alluring fox-like eyes were now filled with undisguised worry, keenly catching the expression on Lin Xia's face that was more painful than crying, as well as the thick, heavy sadness emanating from her.

"Lin Xia, what's wrong?"

Hu Liena walked quickly closer, her brows furrowed.

She had never seen Lin Xia so utterly dejected.

At this moment, he seemed to have had his spine removed, and his whole being exuded a deathly stillness and desolation like a walking corpse.

She could even sense that the Soul Power within him was dormant and disordered, having lost its former smooth and flowing nature.

Lin Xia merely glanced at her, her eyes vacant and unfocused, not even offering the most basic response.

Lin Xia's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but then she closed them tightly again, mechanically and unsteadily continuing to walk forward, as if she only wanted to escape this world.

Hu Liena's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately spread her arms to block his way.

"Stop!"

Her voice carried an undeniable firmness, no longer the coquettishness or joking tone she usually displayed when speaking to him.

Lin Xia was forced to stop, and his unfocused gaze finally regained a very faint focus, landing on Hu Liena's face, who had blocked his way.

But it was merely a "landing" there; there was no doubt, no life in those eyes, only a heavy, suffocating ripple of stagnant water.

"Nana."

With great difficulty, he managed to squeeze out those two words from his dry throat, his voice hoarse as if sandpaper were being rubbed.

"What happened?"

Hu Liena stared intently into his eyes, trying to dredge up some clue from that abyss of despair.

"What happened between you and Sister Xue'er? Or... what about the teacher...?"

She astutely guessed that Lin Xia had come from the direction of Bibi Dong's residence, and before this, only Qian Renxue could make him lose his composure like this.

Upon hearing the word "teacher," Lin Xia's body trembled almost imperceptibly, and a surge of pain suddenly welled up in his eyes, which he then Sheer Force suppressed, leaving only a deeper sense of exhaustion and bewilderment.

He shook his head, a small but incredibly heavy movement.

"I... don't know... how to say it..."

Lin Xia's voice was low and hoarse, each word seeming to have exhausted the last of his strength.

Looking at him like this, Hu Liena felt as if her heart was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

Proud as he was, powerful as he was, when had he ever felt so vulnerable and helpless?

She didn't press him for details; she knew that trying to pry open his mouth at that moment would only deepen his pain.

Hu Liena took a deep breath and made a bold decision.

She suddenly stretched out her hands, no longer blocking his way, but grabbing Lin Xia's cold, stiff wrists!

The movements were crisp and clean, carrying the unique, resilient strength of the fox Martial Soul that made it impossible to break free.

Lin Xia stiffened slightly, looking at her with some astonishment. A genuine emotional fluctuation finally appeared in her empty eyes—confusion.

Meeting his bewildered gaze, Hu Liena's fox-like eyes curved slightly, but no longer held their usual cunning charm; instead, they held an almost domineering warmth and an unyielding firmness as she resolutely stated:

"Since you don't want to talk about it, then don't! Come on, let's go for a drink!"